Nursing students' perception of medical errors: A cross‐sectional study in a university

Abstract

Unsafe practices in health facilities result in about 134 million adverse health events annually in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), contributing to about 2.6 million deaths, and one out of 10 admitted patients are victims of medical errors (MEs) associated with healthcare delivery (WHO, 2019). In nursing education, the clinical practicum is an important developmental process by which a nursing student becomes a "real nurse" (Tseng et al., 2013). Rajeswaran (2016) asserts that learning in a clinical setting creates challenges that are absent in a classroom setting, and by clinical learning, nursing students build critical thinking skills. Some challenges in the clinical setting for students include MEs, their effects and how to report on them if they occur; hence, there is the need to assess students' perception of MEs to help institutions protect patients' safety. | BACKG ROU N DMedical error is an act of omission or commission in planning or execution of care that contributes or could contribute to an unintended result (Grober & Bohnen, 2005). Globally, the prevalence of ME and its associated cost has been estimated at 42 billion US dollars annually which is almost 1% of the world's health expenditure (WHO, 2017).

Knowledge of the administration of medications among undergraduate nursing students in selected clinical sites in Kenya

“…This finding is consistent with Chan's study on medication errors among nursing students, whereby more than 50% (n=19) of the respondents failed the infection prevention and control category (18). Despite rigorous theoretical and practical learning opportunities on infection control during medication administration, the students continue to generate these errors, thus, compromising patient safety (20). Therefore, it is imperative to examine the knowledge of infection control and develop strategies to improve this vital aspect of medication administration.…”

Strategies to prevent medical errors by nursing interns: a qualitative content analysis

“…The present study suggests that poor supervision and evaluation practice contribute to medical errors in nursing interns. In a study by Bam et al, 77% of students cited inadequate supervision in the clinical setting as a cause of medical errors [ 9 ]. Clinical training is an important part of nursing education and students can use theoretical knowledge at internship centers; therefore, supervision of this training course is mandatory.…”

“…Gorgich et al show that calculating medications and prescribing medications are two areas that can lead to medical errors [ 24 ]. A study conducted in Ghana found that less knowledge of the procedure, inadequate knowledge of the medication, and workload were also associated with medication errors [ 9 ]. Students described pharmacy training programs as vulnerable and medication management skills were said to be underdeveloped [ 50 ].…”

“…Medical errors occur when a healthcare provider neglects to provide appropriate treatment or omits to take necessary actions, resulting in harm, injury, or death to a patient [ 5 , 9 ]. The occurrence of errors leads to negative outcomes such as increased patient mortality, longer hospital stays, increased costs, dissatisfaction and reduced trust in the system [ 10 ].…”

Medication dosage calculation among nursing students: does digital technology make a difference? A literature review

“…More recently, a slew of studies investigating the use of novel approaches to teaching medicine administration in simulation have revealed that such methods are already ubiquitous. Several investigations [ 20 , 21 ] have found that employing technology such as calculators, web-based education, simulations, forums, and Virtual Learning Environments improves nurses’ knowledge and abilities in nursing operations. Despite these advancements in technology, nursing students continue to have difficulty with numerical computation.…”